Introduction
Incineroar dominates matches using two main tools: the ability Intimidate (which reduces your team's physical Attack when it enters the field) and the move Fake Out (which makes one of your Pokémon flinch and lose its turn). To beat it, you don't need very complex strategies—you just need to exploit its weaknesses intelligently.
1. Choosing the right items
In Pokémon Champions, classic defensive and punishing items like Assault Vest and Rocky Helmet are not currently available in the game. To get around Incineroar, the best item choices are:
White Herb
The top choice for physical attackers. This item activates automatically as soon as Incineroar uses Intimidate, immediately restoring your Pokémon's Attack stat to normal so you can knock it out.
Mental Herb
Incineroar occasionally uses Taunt to prevent your support Pokémon from using status moves. Mental Herb clears that restriction at once, allowing your strategy to continue without interruptions.
2. Anti-Intimidate abilities
The easiest way to frustrate an Incineroar player is to turn its own ability against it:
Competitive (Milotic)
Incineroar's worst nightmare. This ability sharply increases Milotic's Special Attack whenever a stat is lowered—that is, when it suffers Intimidate, Milotic gets much stronger.
Defiant (Kingambit)
Works on the same principle, but increases the user's physical damage, making Kingambit an immediate threat on the field.
Oblivious (Mamoswine)
Simple and direct. This ability makes the Pokémon completely immune to the stat-reduction effects of Intimidate.
3. Dealing with Fake Out
If Incineroar cannot impose pressure with Fake Out, it loses a large part of its initial utility. Here are the best responses:
Your own Fake Out
Extremely fast Pokémon that also have the move Fake Out, notably Sneasler, can attack Incineroar before it can act. This applies the flinch to the feline itself, instantly removing the turn pressure and leaving your partner free to attack.
Ghost types
Since Fake Out is a Normal-type move, it doesn't affect Ghost-type Pokémon. Fast pieces or massive damage dealers like Dragapult and Basculegion ignore the attack completely and can retaliate on the same turn.
The Armor Tail ability
If you have Farigiraf on the field, its Armor Tail ability passively prevents the opposing team from using any priority attacks, blocking Fake Out and protecting both itself and the allied Pokémon.
Summary table of strategies
| Strategy | How it works | Best Pokémon / items |
|---|---|---|
| Reverse Intimidate | Turns the Attack reduction into an offensive bonus | Milotic (Competitive), Kingambit (Defiant) |
| Ignore Intimidate | Cancels the stat drop passively or with items | Mamoswine (Oblivious), item: White Herb |
| Anticipate Fake Out | Uses a faster Pokémon with Fake Out to make Incineroar flinch on turn 1 | Sneasler |
| Block Fake Out | Prevents the use of priority attacks on the field | Farigiraf (Armor Tail) |
| Fake Out immunity | Uses typing to be unaffected by the move | Dragapult, Basculegion (Ghost types) |
| Raw damage and advantage | Uses types with elemental advantage and high bulk | Rotom-Wash, Tyranitar |
